Website tracking litigation continues to generate high stakes compliance risk, but not all privacy statutes are moving through the courts at the same pace. A notable divergence is emerging between the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) and the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA). Where the first is rapidly heading toward definitive interpretation by the
Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA)
Supreme Court to Define Who Counts as a Consumer under VPPA
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Salazar v. Paramount Global, No. 25-459 (cert. granted Jan. 26, 2026), to resolve a circuit split over the scope of the federal Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). Enacted in 1988, the VPPA has helped fuel a wave of class actions in recent years, especially…
Out-of-State Sony TV Users Can’t Sue Under California Privacy Laws
A recent ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California underscores the limits of state privacy statutes, particularly when plaintiffs reside outside the state and the alleged misconduct lacks a clear connection to California. The decision by Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley dismissed a proposed class action against California-based analytics company Samba…
VPPA Class Action Plaintiffs May Not Waive Arbitration Goodbye
On June 13, 2025, a federal court in the Northern District of California held that a putative Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) class action lawsuit belonged in arbitration, thanks to the defendant company’s arbitration clause.
If you’ve been following our blog, you’ve seen the rise in VPPA class action litigation against companies that provide video…
When Satire Meets Statute: The Onion’s VPPA Class Action
Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) class action lawsuits have been on the rise, and the owner of the The Onion, a popular satire site, finds itself the subject of a recent one. On May 16, 2025, a plaintiff-initiated litigation against Global Tetrahedron, LLC, the owner of The Onion, alleges that the defendant installed the Meta…
The VPPA: The NBA and NFL Ask SCOTUS to Referee
On April 22, 2025, the National Football League (NFL) filed an amicus brief asking the United States Supreme Court to take on a Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) class action case against the National Basketball Association (NBA). In my last post, we covered a recent VPPA lawsuit against a movie theater company and reviewed…
The VPPA: An Old Law with New Streams
Enacted in 1988, the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) was intended to regulate the then-booming videotape industry by limiting how video rental and sales data is disclosed. The law was enacted in direct response to the publication of a Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork’s video rental history. Though videotapes may be a memory of the…